Markets

Positioning

Who holds which side of the main futures markets: pension funds and other asset managers, hedge funds, speculators and commercial hedgers, each group’s net position as a share of the market, and how stretched it is against the past three years.

The CFTC counts positions each Tuesday and publishes them on Friday afternoon. This page holds positions as of Oct 20, 2026, read Oct 23, 5:22 PM ET.

Positions this week

CFTC Commitments of Traders · Oct 20, 2026

S&P 500, asset managers

+46.6% of OI

−0.8 pp on the week

Asset managers · 62th pct of 3 years · Oct 20

S&P 500, leveraged funds

−19.2% of OI

+2.0 pp on the week

Leveraged funds · 27th pct of 3 years · Oct 20

10-year note, leveraged funds

−35.9% of OI

+2.0 pp on the week

Leveraged funds · 57th pct of 3 years · Oct 20

Yen, leveraged funds

−6.0% of OI

+3.0 pp on the week

Leveraged funds · 77th pct of 3 years · Oct 20

WTI crude, speculators

+2.0% of OI

−0.1 pp on the week

Managed money · 14th pct of 3 years · Oct 20

Gold, speculators

+25.9% of OI

−1.1 pp on the week

Managed money · 33th pct of 3 years · Oct 20

Net position is longs less shorts as a share of all open contracts. Positive is net long.

Stock indexes and volatility

Asset managers and leveraged funds
ContractGroupNet contracts% of open interestOn the week3-year percentilePlace in three years
S&P 500 (E-mini)Asset managers901,377+46.6%−0.8 pp62
Leveraged funds−371,245−19.2%+2.0 pp27
Nasdaq-100 (E-mini)Asset managers77,790+28.6%+1.7 pp66
Leveraged funds950+0.3%+4.4 pp94
VIX futuresAsset managers−57,459−13.2%+4.0 pp4
Leveraged funds−20,890−4.8%−5.0 pp69

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Commitments of Traders: Traders in Financial Futures and Disaggregated, futures only · positions as of Oct 20, 2026 · read Oct 23, 5:22 PM ET

Treasuries

Asset managers and leveraged funds
ContractGroupNet contracts% of open interestOn the week3-year percentilePlace in three years
2-year Treasury noteAsset managers1,723,580+38.0%−1.4 pp21
Leveraged funds−1,285,548−28.4%+1.6 pp97
10-year Treasury noteAsset managers2,925,416+49.9%+0.1 pp100
Leveraged funds−2,107,224−35.9%+2.0 pp57
Treasury bondAsset managers388,007+21.7%+0.5 pp4
Leveraged funds−162,757−9.1%−0.8 pp99

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Commitments of Traders: Traders in Financial Futures and Disaggregated, futures only · positions as of Oct 20, 2026 · read Oct 23, 5:22 PM ET

Currencies

Against the dollar: long the euro is short the dollar
ContractGroupNet contracts% of open interestOn the week3-year percentilePlace in three years
EuroAsset managers190,421+21.7%−1.2 pp1
Leveraged funds−68,840−7.8%0.0 pp3
Japanese yenAsset managers79,103+20.9%+3.3 pp79
Leveraged funds−22,890−6.0%+3.0 pp77
British poundAsset managers−134,621−53.0%+1.3 pp3
Leveraged funds24,104+9.5%+5.7 pp25

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Commitments of Traders: Traders in Financial Futures and Disaggregated, futures only · positions as of Oct 20, 2026 · read Oct 23, 5:22 PM ET

Commodities

Speculators (managed money) and hedgers (producers and merchants)
ContractGroupNet contracts% of open interestOn the week3-year percentilePlace in three years
WTI crudeManaged money36,187+2.0%−0.1 pp14
Producers and merchants359,568+19.6%+1.0 pp97
Natural gasManaged money−157,409−9.2%−1.9 pp1
Producers and merchants−13,154−0.8%−0.2 pp80
GoldManaged money104,206+25.9%−1.1 pp33
Producers and merchants−14,783−3.7%+1.0 pp99
CopperManaged money47,690+14.6%−4.9 pp49
Producers and merchants−77,406−23.7%+5.1 pp54
CornManaged money164,423+9.0%−4.4 pp79
Producers and merchants−528,744−28.8%+3.7 pp22
Wheat (Chicago)Managed money−52,005−10.1%−3.7 pp74
Producers and merchants−40,646−7.9%+3.0 pp30

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Commitments of Traders: Traders in Financial Futures and Disaggregated, futures only · positions as of Oct 20, 2026 · read Oct 23, 5:22 PM ET

S&P 500 futures

Net position, % of open interest, three years
  • Asset managers
  • Leveraged funds

10-year Treasury futures

Net position, % of open interest, three years
  • Asset managers
  • Leveraged funds

Asset managers are pension funds, insurers and mutual funds; leveraged funds are hedge funds and trend followers. In Treasuries, leveraged funds’ large net short is mostly the futures side of the cash-futures basis trade, not a bet on yields. A position at the edge of its three-year range is the one most likely to be unwound quickly if the market moves against it.

ARCANE reporting

Published investigations, newest first

Sources

Every number above, where it comes from and when it was read
Positioning · Markets · ARCANE